บท 88: Karmic Rule – II
Jinhee stared at the two women seated across from her. At the same time, she held Flone's left hand with her right, showing solidarity with her Unni.
A tense silence filled the air as the women stared at each other.
Mom was busy in the kitchen, preparing more food since they had more guests. As for Dad, he was seated at a couch he pulled over from the living room, a grumpy expression on his face. That, and a hint of disappointment.
Jinhee pulled out her phone. She had texted Jihu an hour ago and he still hadn't replied. And Kim Hannah- No, 'Seol' Hannah had done the same.
Which meant that Jinhee's Oppa was out busy with something. That guy wasn't the sort to ignore them on purpose.
At least, he didn't used to be. But hell, she thought that he was the sort of guy to not go around playing the field either, and look how that ended up!
"Um..." Miss Kim- No, Hannah. It was better to just call her Hannah. And definitely not Unni. No, the only Unni that Jinhee would accept after Seonhwa was Flone Unni.
Anyway, Hannah gave a hesitant wave and said, "N-Nice to formally meet you again, Jinhee? Or should I call you-"
"Don't talk to me, you thieving cat."
Hannah flinched. "I-I didn't mean to-"
"Uh-huh. Sure. It's *totally* not like you got jealous about how Oppa was spending more time with Flone Unni and then pressured Oppa to marry you instead."
Hannah lowered her face.
Flone sighed and said, "Don't be too harsh on her, Jinhee. Hannah is-"
"Hannah is someone who you should have been more firm with, Unni!" Jinhee turned towards Flone and said, "Seriously! You know how Oppa is! And he loves you! So why the hell are you okay with this?!" She pointed at Hannah and said, "She's Oppa's legal wife! Wife!"
Flone nodded. "I know."
Jinhee pointed towards Claire and said, "And that other foreign woman! She says that she's Oppa's Mistress!"
"I know."
"Why aren't you more upset?!"
Flone let out a serene smile and said, "Because I love Jihu. It doesn't matter to me how many others he loves as long as I have at least a little piece of his heart."
Jinhee's eyes widened when she heard that.
At the same time, she recalled a conversation she had in the past with the other woman she used to call Unni.
'Unni. I know you love Oppa, but he isn't like how he used to be. You're pretty and smart, right? Why don't you just find someone else?'
'Because I love him, Jinhee. Even if he's like this now... I know that deep down, he's still the same Jihu I know. And someday... someday he'll be back.'
"...Tch." Jinhee crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "...Both of my Unnis are stupid."
Seonhwa should have realized that Oppa would have collapsed without her. And when he fell into that spiral of gambling, she was more than justified to leave him behind. But she stuck around, and look where that got her. Dumped by Oppa and now out looking for someone new, always in and out of her house.
Then there was Flone. A beautiful and kind woman who clearly loved Oppa. Who was willing to patiently wait for him back at home and who came overseas just for him. Who no longer had a home to return to or even any family.
And now it turned out that Jihu hadn't just given Flone a weak promise to always be with her, but he had gone around and married a different woman just shortly after he promised that he'd always be with Flone!
And who the hell even was this Claire chick? Taking responsibility? Making it so she couldn't get married anymore? Run out her home by her family?!
What the hell was her Oppa even doing in his spare time?! What, was she going to get a call from Seora now that she got pregnant with Oppa's child after some 'overtime' at the office? Or hell! Maybe they had a threesome with Seora's older sister!
Jinhee wouldn't know. When it came to her older brother, she didn't even know where the limits were anymore!
With Wooseok at least, Jinhee could rest assured that the guy would just bring home one girl. But with Jihu... it was like he got so depressed after not being with Seonhwa for a while that he rebounded with every girl he met!
What the hell!?
"Now, now." Jinhee's mom came back from the kitchen and set down some tea and cookies. "Don't get too mad at your Oppa yet, Jinhee. Let's wait to hear his side of the story... Ah, and sorry Dears, but I don't have much in terms of snacks..."
Hannah smiled and said, "That's fine, M-"
Jinhee glared at Hannah.
"...Madam."
"Jinhee!"
"What?"
Jinhee's mom sighed and then turned towards Claire. "Ah. Um... *Enjoy food! Sorry not much!*"
Claire smiled and bowed her head.
Jinhee's mom smiled back.
As for Jinhee herself, she rolled her eyes. She looked at Hannah and said, "How did Oppa even meet that woman? I thought he sucked at English."
That was part of the reason why Jihu never went overseas. Seonhwa was good at English, but Jihu was never able to pick it up very well.
So how the hell did he charm that blonde model there? And then there was that Maria chick too who pretended to not care but was *totally* crushing on her Oppa.
Since when was he such a lady's man?
"Hm?" Hannah blinked and then frowned. "Jihu isn't good at English?"
The sound of a rustling newspaper echoed. After that, Jinhee's dad called out. "Sly brat. He must've learned English during his little sabbatical last summer to pick up foreign girls. Now if only we could say the same about Wooseok..."
"Dear!" Jinhee's mom turned towards her husband and said, "Don't be rude!"
"What? It's true, isn't it? And the guy has decent enough looks and a decent job. He deserves the criticism for still not bringing home a girl."
Jinhee rolled her eyes. "Yeah. And now to make up for it, your second son brought home like half a dozen."
"Jinhee!"
"Tell me I'm wrong, Mom."
Jinhee's mom frowned and then said, "Even so... they all seem like nice women. We know Miss Hannah, Miss Claire seems very polite, and Miss Flone seems sweet and kind."
Jinhee nodded. "She is. Almost too much for Oppa."
"So then we should wait and hear it from your Oppa himself, okay? Remember last time? Let's not make too many assumptions, okay?"
"Hmph." Jinhee crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
...Maybe her mom was right. The last time her instincts acted up about her Oppa, Jinhee thought that she was going to be left behind on that street. But Oppa turned back around and then even turned his life around.
So maybe this was a misunderstanding. Maybe it wasn't that Oppa was the one who had a thing for all the women, but that they had a thing for him. And maybe those women were lying.
Hell, she knew that Kim Hannah or whatever was used to lying and deflecting. There was a reason why she was in charge of Oppa's business stuff.
That Claire woman... Jinhee didn't know anything about her, but it seemed like Flone was aware of her at least. It didn't seem to be a case of some unknown mistress showing up to stir the waters.
But Flone was practically a Saintess. It seemed like no matter what Oppa did, Flone would forgive him for it.
Not only that... Jinhee's intuition was acting up. She had a feeling this wasn't the end of it.
But her mom was right.
She'd wait. After all, didn't she have a misunderstanding about Flone at first? She thought that Flone and Oppa were already like 'that', but it seemed like Oppa had been a perfect gentleman even after Unni was willing and ready to do whatever he wanted.
But he didn't.
...But was that because he wanted to take things slow, or because he already had another girl in his heart?
That-
*dingdong*
The door bell.
At once, everyone turned to look at the front door. But before anybody else could act, Jinhee got up and ran over. "I'll get it!"
"W-Wait!" Flone stood up and said, "Jinhee, please-"
Jinhee grabbed the door and wrenched it open. "About time, you dumb, Op...pa?"
She paused.
It was her Oppa standing there. No mistaking the handsome face and suit.
But he wasn't alone.
A busty Korean beauty with silky black hair and curves in all the right places.
A tomboyish foreign beauty with enchanting pink eyes and ethereal pink hair.
Both of them standing behind Oppa and giving a shy wave.
Jinhee slowly turned her gaze to her big brother.
He quickly held up his hands. "I can explain-"
*SMACK*
xxx
An extremely tense atmosphere. Dead air that seemed to stretch forever.
After arriving... and taking a full-force slap from my baby sister, I was dragged in and forced to sit at the front of the dining table. Following that, everyone else grabbed seats and rearranged the room to sit and face me.
On the left side, lined up in a row, there was Hannah, Claire, and Yuhui.
On the right side, there was Flone, Teresa, and my parents.
And then then seated directly across from me was Jinhee, her arms crossed and a look of clear disgust and disappointment on her face.
...Fuck. I'd handled a nuke before, but this was something else.
First of all... the situation seemed to be like this.
After I called Hannah, Claire had got it in her mind to make a formal introduction to my parents. Probably as a result of me taking too long and maybe to do a small prank.
That went well for a bit. But then Jinhee showed up with Flone in tow.
That was where things went wrong.
I like Flone. A lot. And I knew that I subconsciously showed that affection whenever I was around her. Jinhee saw that. But I hadn't been ready to commit to anything just yet. Mostly because I was still sorting things out. And she knew that.
So Jinhee already had it in her head that while I might be playing around with some other women, Flone was my number one.
And Flone was. If not for her saying it was okay, I wouldn't even consider the others. But since she did... I got a bit greedy.
But then it came out that I had suddenly become married to Hannah, and Claire was there as my overseas mistress. And that the two already knew and made arrangements for that.
Of course, it somehow didn't come up that Flone had approved of all this beforehand and was okay with it-
Ah, no. Knowing Jinhee, she probably would think that Flone was just being too nice and that I was the scum of the Earth for taking advantage of her kindness.
Which... I couldn't really argue with. Flone really was too nice to me. But at the same time, I couldn't just kill the feelings I had for all the other girls. And it was clear that they had feelings for me too, so... there was that mess.
But then I had to show up with Yuhui and Resa in tow.
And in a situation like this, there was really only one explanation...
Jinhee slammed her hands on the table and looked at me. "Oppa."
I flinched and then looked at her. "Y-Yes?"
"Tell me honestly." She stared into my eyes, as if trying to see into my soul. After that, she said, "Are you a pimp?"
Yuhui burst out laughing.
Teresa did as well and said, "We~ll..." She looked towards me and winked.
"Oi!" I pointed at her and said, "Stop that! People will misunderstand!"
"But hubbie! Didn't you pay me a lot of money for my body? And then you had me working so hard for other people too..."
Jinhee's eyes turned sharp.
My dad's eyes turned sharp as well. "Son."
I held up my hands. "It's not like that! Promise!"
Claire looked at me and then started talking in Italian. "It seems like you are quite troubled, Jihu. Did I do something wrong by showing up?" She fiddled with her hands and then lowered her gaze. "...Perhaps I should have just remained out of sight?"
""No!""
I blinked and looked at Flone.
...Did she just speak in Italian?
Before I could dwell on it, Flone turned towards Claire and said in Italian, "You are a kind, beautiful, and competent woman, Claire! Please, give yourself more value!" She turned back towards me and said, "Tell her, Jihu!"
I quickly nodded and said, "Flone's right, Claire. This has gotten to be a big mess... but you're important to me. I can't say that I love you just yet, but if you're willing to be by my side, know that I'll never let you go."
Claire blushed and lowered her gaze.
"Hey!" Jinhee glared at me and said, "What did you just say?! And what language was that?!"
Teresa laughed. "Your big brother's just busy trying to put out fires, Jinhee. Though it seems like he might have started one in Miss Claire's heart... or would it be her-"
"Resa!" Yuhui interrupted and lightly shoved Teresa. "You're going to bury him!"
"Yeah? Well, that's only fair. I'm going to bury him because he never buried his sword in my-"
"Anyway!" Yuhui interrupted again and said, "I think that this is all a big misunderstanding. Right, Jihu?"
I quickly nodded.
Thanks for the save, Yuhui!
[Bro. You should seriously stop winging it and use your skill.]
Shut up! No one asked you!
[I know. But take it from me, it's going to be a serious pain in the ass later if you don't. And your eyes are better than mine, so it should work out better.]
That's cheating!
[And they're going to think you're cheating otherwise, dumbass.]
How the hell are you even talking to me?! Aren't you busy?!
[Nah. Got a lot of downtime waiting for- Oh hey, he's here. Good luck.]
Wait, who's-?!
Yuhui smiled and said, "See? So why don't we clear this up? Ah, but first, we should do introductions!" She clapped her hands and said, "I'll go first!" She placed her hand over her chest and said, "My name is Seo Yuhui. I know Jihu from Miss Seonhwa, and we got to know each other more after running into each other on a consulting job."
Jinhee paused and looked at Yuhui. "You know Seonhwa?"
"Mmhm! We're... Well, I don't think I can say we're close friends. But we've been acquainted with each other for a few years now."
Jinhee slowly turned to look at me. "Is that so...?"
I felt a shiver run down my back.
...Alright. Maybe Blackie was right.
All's fair in love and war, right? And this is *definitely* going to turn out as both at this rate, so...
[Seol Jinhee]
Your younger sister.
Thinks you're a cheating bastard.
She would have been fine with it if you picked Flone, but since you married Hannah she's stubbornly holding a grudge.
I resisted the urge to groan at that.
Great. How the hell was I going to fix that? Come on, me. Think...
"Me next!" Flone smiled and said, "I'm Flone! Well, that's what everyone calls me. My full name is... It's complicated." She laughed and then turned towards me, letting out a soft smile. "Jihu saved my life and has been nothing but good towards me." She placed her hands over her chest, letting out a tender expression. "And I love him. I love him a lot."
#@$@!
[Ah. Rest in peace, man. I'll see you on the other side.]
I thought you were busy!
[I was. But I've got time to kill again. And it looks like time's killing you, huh?]
My mom smiled at Flone. "That's sweet, Dear." Then she turned towards me and said, "What about you, Jihu?"
"I..."
Insane and heavy pressure. Everyone in the room turning to look at me at once.
My dad's judging and stern gaze.
My mom's supportive and happy gaze.
Hannah's guilty gaze.
Claire's confused gaze... but mostly because she didn't understand what was going on.
Resa's amused gaze, idly twirling her pink hair.
Flone's quiet and loving gaze, hands folded quietly in her lap.
And then Jinhee, who looked half a step away from jumping across the table and beating me up.
In a situation like this... What the hell was I supposed to do?!
Oi, Transcendent Insight! Help me out!
[Seeking Solution...]
[Solution found.]
[Solution A]
Lay down and beg for forgiveness. Result: Lost Jinhee's trust. Affection from all women down. Resa becomes disinterested. Yuhui leaves. Claire supports you. Flone loves you.
No way! I'm *not* doing that! It never works! Haven't you read any manga or light novels!? That never ends well!
[Solution B]
Admit you're a scumbag and are trying to land all the girls. Result: Lost Jinhee's trust. Lost parent's respect. Hannah is disappointed. Resa is amused. Yuhui grudgingly accepts. Claire supports you. Flone loves you.
*That* never works either! Come on! And I want to keep Jinhee's trust and my parent's respect, dammit!
[Solution C]
Say that you love Flone above all the other girls. Result: Flone jumps you afterwards. Resa loves you. Yuhui respects you. Jinhee grudgingly accepts you. Your parents respect you. Claire supports you. Hannah is heartbroken and guilt-ridden.
No way. I can't do that to Hannah. And... that might be true, but I love them too. Well, maybe not quite love yet, but I'd like for it to reach that point.
[Solution D for the greedy son of a bitch whose appetite for women can't be quenched.]
What? Hey, now you listen here-!
[Wait for Flone.]
...Huh?
A deep sigh. Flone's.
With that, everyone's gaze shifts towards her.
Jinhee turned towards Flone and said, "Unni?"
She shook her head and said, "Does this really matter, Jinhee?"
Jinhee slammed the table. "Of course it matters! Oppa's been playing with girls' hearts! And someone as kind as you-"
"But he hasn't."
"What?"
Flone turned towards me and let out a soft smile. "It's not his fault, you know? Your Oppa... Jihu is just that sort of man. He's an incredible and caring person who makes people's wishes come true." She turned to look at each of the other women in the room and said, "You all know it too, right? That's why you like Jihu. One way or another, he's changed your life forever. Made it so that your dark and gray life was filled with a glimmer of light and color."
[Oh you lucky ass son of a bitch.]
...
Flone took another look around the room and said, "He's sacrificed so much for everyone's happiness, so it's only fair that we compromise a bit like this, right?"
Silence.
"Miss Hannah?"
Hannah sighed and lowered her head. "...I know."
"Miss Claire- Ah. You don't understand Korean. Um... *Jihu has sacrificed so much and worked so hard, so it's only fair we compromise, right?*"
Claire immediately nodded and responded in Italian. "Of course."
Flone smiled and looked towards Teresa. "Resa?"
Teresa laughed. "Fine, fine. I guess so... But I'm third! Got it, Jihu?"
"Y-Yes?"
Teresa nodded and then leaned back.
"Miss Yuhui?"
Yuhui looked at Flone and then at me. She looked a bit troubled for a while and then sighed, smiling. "I suppose you're right, Flonnie. Besides, Jihu's a bit too much for any single woman to handle, right?"
Flone giggled and then turned back to face me, winking.
[You owe her. You owe Flone *bad*. Fuck. If I had a girl like that in my corner, this wouldn't have ended up in such a mess. Dammit. Why is your Flone so different?!]
You are absolutely right, and I am going to immediately pray to whatever deities are listening after this and thank them. Then after that, I'm going to take Flone out for a very nice date and tell her I love her again and again because HOLY CRAP was I shitting myself.
"Ah. One more thing." Flone looked around the room and smiled. "Miss Hannah might be Jihu's legal wife right now, but I was his first, you know?"
Wait what?
Flone looked back at me and said, "Back in my hometown, my grandfather gave his blessing to our union, and Jihu and I swore an eternal oath to each other. So..." Flone jumped out of her seat and ran to grab my arm.
"F-Flone?"
Flone stuck her tongue out at the girls and said, "Jihu's mine. I'm just sharing."
Silence.
[Ah. Never mind. Flone's the same.]
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